Where have all the really good domains gone?

[DomainersEdge]

Up until about two months ago I was pretty successful at purchasing premium generic domains. Lately it's been a different story, I've been trying like h*ll to spend some money but cannot . I've got a nice xxx,xxx budget to work with... but nothing.

I think all the crazy press lately and all the big money coming into this space has the holders of good domains holding out (or expecting insane valuations).

I've developed some good strategies for finding and registering income producing domains (unregistered goodies and dropping) and that's all going great, but it's hard to keep track of so many small (yet profitable) domains.

Anyone know how to root out some premium generic domains or have any thoughts on this topic?

 

[equity78]

You make some good points Matt, you are right Business 2.0 and USA TODAY with the articles highlighting domains had propped up valuations. The success of T.R.A.F.F.I.C has helped too people are basically told owning a generic .com like owning a gold mine.
Wall St and The VC world come in now with money much bigger than the biggest domainers had (except ELEQUA). I think what you mentioned having a bunch of smaller successful domains the key, because you are not going to get a COLOR.com or a Primary Business generic cheap.

 

[domainstosell]

You can always look at IDNs for a (in most cases) mid- to long- term investment. You can get some outstanding premium generics with that kind of budget at this point...

 

[DomainersEdge]

You make some good points Matt, you are right Business 2.0 and USA TODAY with the articles highlighting domains had propped up valuations. The success of T.R.A.F.F.I.C has helped too people are basically told owning a generic .com like owning a gold mine.
Wall St and The VC world come in now with money much bigger than the biggest domainers had (except ELEQUA). I think what you mentioned having a bunch of smaller successful domains the key, because you are not going to get a COLOR.com or a Primary Business generic cheap.

I don't mind paying. I've bought domains for up to 5x revenue in the past. I'm not looking for a steal...

 

[kev]

i am brokering a few XXX,XXX domain names if you want me to pm them for you and willing to help you find a nice name if you want?

kevin

 

[slaughterbeck]

I think the market is at a competitive level currently. I don’t necessarily believe that valuations for domain names are too high at the moment. I believe the reason interest is burgeoning is due to an explosion of worldwide internet use. If you feel that the price of the namespace you’re seeking is presently valued too highly you might be well suited to explore Country Code (ccTLDs) generic domains as these will likely see the biggest growth over the next several years.



Best wishes,
Kimmy

 

[DomainersEdge]

Thanks for the responses so far.... I really haven't put any focus into the int'l market (I'm pretty much a .com guy only). Perhaps I should consider allocating a portion of my budget to this more area. It seems to be quite a bit more speculative, but that isn't all bad.

Has anyone here ever tried contacting the owners of high value under-utilized (or not utilized at all) domains to see if they'd be interested in selling? I know people do this but is it done on an ad hoc basis only or are there individuals/companies applying real systems and focus to take advantage of this opportunity? It's clear that there are a lot of very valuable domain names being held by people who really have little sense of what they're holding.

I'm thinking of developing a process for identifying these valuable and underutilized domains and possibly incorporating it into what we have already on our member site.

 

[verbster]

The big-time domain kiting also hurts registering names...even if you don't like the head honcho from godaddy, he makes a good point on that.

 

[DomainersEdge]

The big-time domain kiting also hurts registering names...even if you don't like the head honcho from godaddy, he makes a good point on that.

I agree.. It's hard to like that guy, but he's got a valid point about the kiting stuff. I'm surprised more people don't talk about that issue.

 

[Lyte]

Howdy,

What's this " kiting stuff?"

Lyte

 

[verbster]

http://www.bobparsons.com/DomainKitingp.html

 

[Lyte]

Wow! I know about checking kiting but this domain kiting is new to me! Geez, what people won't do to make a buck! :td:

I guess ICANN isn't really interested in doing anything about this abuse.

Lyte

 

[-OutlawBiker-]

I don't mind paying. I've bought domains for up to 5x revenue in the past. I'm not looking for a steal...

Up to 5x? Here I thought the norm was 8x up to a couple years ago, and some people consider that rate a steal now. If you were buying at a rate of 5x you sure got some nice stuff. If you find them at 6x (without typos or TM etc) and don't want them, send them my way please.

 

[HuskyDomains]

Tons of money made in the kiting business..It's only going to get worse from here

 

[DomainersEdge]

Up to 5x? Here I thought the norm was 8x up to a couple years ago, and some people consider that rate a steal now. If you were buying at a rate of 5x you sure got some nice stuff. If you find them at 6x (without typos or TM etc) and don't want them, send them my way please.

Outlaw,
6x is not a bad deal these days and any purchase that anyone makes is based upon a lot of factors other than the last few months revenue. But, If you were paying 8x even a year ago I think you were paying significantly above market.

Since you seem to be a buyer as well and appear to have been around for a while, what do you think about my question above about sytematically finding and contacing owners of valuable but unutilized domains?

No man with the handle outlawbiker drives a car when a bike will do. So, What kind of bike do you own?

 

[psalzmann]

I agree.. It's hard to like that guy, but he's got a valid point about the kiting stuff. I'm surprised more people don't talk about that issue.

Sorry I don't mean to post off-topic, but I just saw a tv interview with bob and he seems like a great guy with a great attitude.

If anyone should know about scams, it's him. He wants his customers and everyone to know about these practices which means he cares. He could do the exact same and tripple the revenue of godaddy as it stands, but I'd say he's one of the good business men out there trying to make people aware.

If I may ask, what don't you like about him? It'd be interesting to know.

 

[dochlaggie]

"Has anyone here ever tried contacting the owners of high value under-utilized (or not utilized at all) domains to see if they'd be interested in selling? "

I have only sold 2 names and these sales have been the result of receiving a phone call from an interested buyer. So I would have to say give it a try.

I have names listed with Sedo and Afternic. Some of these names have received offers from either venue -but the amounts offered have been only enough to cover Afternic & Sedo fees. Negiotiation is also very difficult, especially via Sedo.

Only last week, I had an request for parking stats on a name not parked at Sedo. Cant send that data unless the name is parked with Sedo.

Good luck.